Chapter 25 The Twenty-fifth Kill

When Doctor Chu came to examine him, he was very harsh in his words, which made Zhou Xunran dare not even raise his head.

Xiaoyu was laughing on the side. Seeing Zhou Yi standing aside calmly, she nudged him with her shoulder and said, "I didn't expect that Old Man Chu was so brave that he even dared to scold the prince."

Zhou Yi silently took a step to the left, moving further away from the little fish.

Xiaoyu was puzzled. When she looked up again, she saw Zhou Xunran's unfriendly eyes, staring at her with resentment.

She coughed secretly and imitated Zhou Yit's expression, becoming expressionless.

However, Doctor Chu did not let her go: "And you, Xiaoyu, you patted your chest and told me that you would take care of the prince's meals and that you would make medicinal food for the prince to nourish his body. Now, why is the prince's body getting weaker and weaker?"

Zhou Xunran also looked at her with condemnation.

Xiaoyu wanted to explain, but Zhou Xunran didn't give her a chance and echoed Doctor Chu's words: "That's right, Doctor Chu, you don't know if you don't live in the palace. This Xiaoyu is so bold that she even wants to leave the palace and slack off."

"How can this be possible!"

Doctor Chu was so angry that his white beard was lifted by his words. "Zhou Yi, watch her. She is not allowed to leave the house without my permission. If she tries to sneak away, tell me."

Xiaoyu thought to himself, what can I do if I tell you? You can’t tie me up.

Zhou Xunran continued to complain like a powerful villain: "Doctor Chu, she seems a little dissatisfied."

Doctor Chu asked Xiaoyu slowly, "Really?"

A good man never accepts a loss. Xiaoyu smiled guiltily: "No, I listen to Doctor Chu the most, how can I not accept it? This is definitely a frame-up!"

Doctor Chu snorted, and finally left the room with satisfaction after the two people raised their fingers and swore.

Zhou Yi wanted to show off, so he hurried to see Doctor Chu out.

As soon as he left, Zhou Xunran lost her confidence. Thinking of the bad things she had just said in front of her, she lowered her head and pretended to be a quail.

Mr. Xiaoyu is a magnanimous person and naturally doesn't want to argue with this patient.

The most important thing now is to find a way to meet the sect leader and see if he can let me stay in the palace.

Thinking of this, Xiaoyu stretched out his hand to Zhou Xunran: "Give me some money, I'll go out for a while."

Zhou Xunran looked at her in surprise.

This was the first time in her life that she was asked for money so directly. Xiaoyu felt guilty and was ready to strike first and blame him: "Your master is so irresponsible. I stayed at Qiutang's house these two days and saw that she was so poor that she was reluctant to mend the torn paper on the windows. I'll give her some money."

Zhou Xunran has so many people under his command, it is impossible for him to pay attention to a guard who is not very conspicuous.

"In that case, I'll ask Zhou Yi to give him some extra money."

The little fish frowned.

[Does this mean I can’t go out? No, I have to go out today! ]

"Besides Qiutang, there were others. There was a little girl named Huahua, you must not know her. Her family lived near Qiutang's. The officials said the imperial city was being expanded, so they violently drove them away. They pushed Huahua to the ground, and she hit her head on the stone steps. They died without being cured. You should also give her some money for this."

Xiaoyu mentioned the expansion of the imperial city to him and asked if those government officials were his subordinates. He probably thought it was because of this matter.

"This should be none of my business, right? The expansion of the imperial city is the business of the Imperial City Administration. It is not within my jurisdiction." Zhou Xunran said tentatively.

That's true.

Xiaoyu ignored all this and said confidently, "Why not your business? If you hadn't worked so hard to assist His Majesty and if you hadn't been so talented in managing the government, His Majesty wouldn't have had the time to take concubines. If he didn't take concubines, would the imperial city need to be expanded?"

Zhou Xunran was about to say no but she successfully stopped him. He felt embarrassed not to give her money since she had praised him so much.

"You can give me the money, but I have something to say first."

As long as there is money, Xiaoyu is also very straightforward: "You say."

"If you give money directly to the family of that flowery girl, will her family think that you are from the Imperial City Division and transfer their hatred towards you?"

Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment. She had indeed never considered this question.

"So what do you think we should do?"

This is what I was waiting for. Zhou Xunran said, "I can help you with both of these things. You don't need to leave the house today."

"That won't do." Xiaoyu refused directly, "I have to go to Qiutang's house. I haven't told her I'm safe since I came out. She will worry about me."

Zhou Xunran explained, "Cao Shipeng has suffered a loss this time and will never give up. It will be unsafe for you to leave the house."

Xiaoyu said, "Then you can just find someone to follow me."

[Then I dumped him at Qiutang's house, hehe! ]

"Lin Kun is injured, Zhou Yi is not here, and there is no one available."

Xiaoyu thought for a moment, then said excitedly: "You have eight secret guards, why don't you give me one?"

She hasn't seen what a real Dark Guard looks like yet.

Zhou Xunran paused and looked away.

Xiaoyu saw his dilemma and asked, "What's wrong? I just borrowed your secret guard for a while. It's not like I won't return it to you. Are you reluctant to give it to you?"

Zhou Xunran still didn't say anything.

Xiaoyu realized something was wrong and continued to ask, "Or is it that the guards in the palace are so lax that the eight secret guards cannot leave your side for a moment?"

Zhou Xunran said, "There are no secret guards. I was... uh, lying to you. In broad daylight, the secret guards don't have invisibility skills, so how could they provide close protection?"

"Ha." Xiaoyu sneered, "I really appreciate you being honest with me now."

"You are welcome."

Xiaoyu was so angry that her face turned red. She didn't want to argue with him anymore. She stood up and walked out: "I'm going to ask the chief steward for the money. If he doesn't give it to me, don't blame me for being a jerk in public."

The chief steward was very straightforward and gave her a bag full of silver coins: "The prince said that you can spend as much as you want. If you don't have enough, just tell us the name of the palace and someone will come to collect the silver."

Xiaoyu weighed the silver and left the house with satisfaction.

This time, I didn't need to see if anyone was following me. Anyway, I couldn't go to Qiutang's house empty-handed.

Xiaoyu went directly to the candy shop where they solved their problems.

It’s the same boss as last time.

Seeing Xiaoyu coming in, he put down his abacus and came over to greet her in person: "Hey, the lady is here again."

Through the shopkeeper's slender eyes, Xiaoyu could see the pride in his expression without even thinking.

It's as if to say, look, even if I go bankrupt, you can still come to my candy shop again.

"We recently got some new citrus candies. They are sour and sweet and are very popular. They are very popular among ladies. Would you like to try some?"

With money in hand, Xiaoyu was more confident in what he said, and he didn't even ask the price: "Give me half a catty, and half a catty of that grapefruit candy as well."

"Okay, miss, please wait a moment."

When there is business to be done, the shopkeeper will naturally smile.

After weighing the sugars individually, the shopkeeper returned to the counter and began to record the accounts.

Xiaoyu whispered, "I want to see the Sect Master, is there any way?"

The shopkeeper kept smiling: "Fortunately, you only said 'want', not 'want'."

Xiaoyu pondered his words and said, "I want to see the sect leader, I want to see the sect leader." These are indeed two different meanings.

"You talk too much. Do you have any solution?"

The shopkeeper shook his head: "No. The master always comes and goes without a trace. No one can find him unless he wants to see you."

Xiaoyu was a little disappointed. He didn't even have the strength to pay the bill.

The shopkeeper said, "However, the sect leader sent someone to pass on the message."

Xiaoyu asked lazily, "What?"

The shopkeeper took the silver she handed over, glanced at Xiaoyu carefully, and while she was distracted, he put it directly into the box and locked it.

"He said he will be leaving the capital soon and will not be able to take care of you. You should stay in the palace for now. You don't have to do any missions. Just keep yourself safe. We can talk to him when he comes back."

The more Xiaoyu listened, the brighter her eyes became: "Really?"

That means she doesn't have to go back to Jieyoumen and can stay in the palace!

"How dare I lie to you, young lady?"

What great news!

Xiaoyu stood up from the bench, holding two packets of candy that the shopkeeper had packed.

The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter to see her off: "Goodbye, Miss! You're welcome to come again next time!"

Xiaoyu stared at him, smiled sinisterly, stretched out her palm and slapped the counter heavily: "Give me the change! Don't think you can cheat me out of my money just because you gave me the information. I definitely gave you too much just now!"

If it was anyone else, it would be fine, but facing this extremely stingy shopkeeper, she would never give him a single cent!

The shopkeeper smiled and said without any fear: "What are you talking about, young lady? Young lady's hands are like those of a fairy. The money you gave me is just right. How can it be too much?"

Xiaoyu stared at the money box. She listened to him throwing the silver just now and realized that there must be more than just her piece of silver in it. Now it would be impossible to take out the piece she had just given.

In other words, it is probably impossible to ask the shopkeeper to give you change.

Xiaoyu gritted her teeth and said, "You really know how to do business."

Even their own people are so unscrupulous!

"Thank you for the compliment, Miss. When you return home, please say good things about me."

Xiaoyu affirmed, "Of course I will report all your great achievements to the higher authorities without revealing a single word."

The shopkeeper's expression remained unchanged. He bowed deeply to her and said slowly, "Thank you, Miss~"

Xiaoyu took her two bags of candy and before leaving, she grabbed a handful of rice dumpling candy from the candy cabinet to satisfy her anger.

She just noticed that the price of this rice dumpling candy is much more expensive than citrus candy and grapefruit candy.

After getting the candy, Xiaoyu went to Qiutang and Wu Jing's home happily.

It was broad daylight, but the gate of the courtyard was tightly closed.

Xiaoyu felt something was strange, especially after he knocked on the gate twice and no one responded.

The silent air creates a tense atmosphere.

Could it be that they were captured by Cao Shipeng's assassins?

Xiaoyu's heart tightened, and she leaned over the crack of the door and shouted inside: "Sister Qiutang! Brother Jing, are you there?"

The door to the main room was opened a crack, and then Qiutang opened the door and walked out.

Seeing that she was safe, Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief: "Sister Qiutang, why are you still locking the door in broad daylight?"

When she got closer, Xiaoyu realized that Qiutang didn't look very well. "Sister Qiutang?"

Qiu Tang came back to her senses and smiled apologetically: "Sorry, Xiaoyu, I have something to do at home today, I'm afraid I can't entertain you."

"Is Brother Jing injured? How about I go to the palace to find a doctor?"

Seeing her undisguised concern, Qiu Tang's eyes turned red and she almost couldn't hold back her tears.

"No, it's not."

"What is that? Oh, Sister Qiutang, please don't cry." Xiaoyu's face was almost deformed by the gap of the courtyard gate, but it was a pity that her arms were too short and could not reach Qiutang's face.

"Sister Qiutang, please open the door."

Qiutang didn't want to let outsiders interfere in her family affairs. But she had a heart-to-heart talk with Xiaoyu yesterday, so Qiutang thought about the people in the house, so she opened the door and let Xiaoyu into the yard.

"It's not Brother Jing's fault. Then what happened, Sister Qiutang?" Xiaoyu rubbed her face which was hurt by the gap in the door, and said as she walked.

Qiu Tang led her into the house, her voice choking with sobs: "Jing's mother and uncle came to visit us. They want to take Jing back to Qizhou."

Xiaoyu paused for a moment. Sister Qiutang and Wu Jing eloped to Beijing. Now that Wu Jing's family has come, Sister Qiutang is so sad. She probably thinks that the Wu family has not accepted her yet, and they want to punish her!

How can this be possible!

Xiaoyu followed Qiutang into the room in a heroic and confident manner.

She originally thought that Wu Jing's mother was an unreasonable, fierce-looking woman, but unexpectedly she was a dignified and elegant lady whose every move was of a noble character.

Even Uncle Wu Jing, who was sitting next to him, looked like a gentleman.

Qiu Tang introduced the two people, "This is the maidservant beside the prince, Miss Xiaoyu."

She also had her own selfish motives, so she pointed out Xiaoyu's identity first and then said Xiaoyu's name.